On June 6, Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the residence and other locations linked to Aam Aadmi Party’s leader and Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain. The search operation started early in the morning and was going on till this report was published. Notably, Jain is currently in ED’s custody till June 9 in connection to the money laundering case involving a company from Kolkata.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today conducted searches at the residence of Delhi’s Health and Home Minister Satyendar Jain in connection with hawala transactions related to a Kolkata-based company.
— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2022
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/X9QKs1oD7R
Jain was arrested by ED on May 30 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He was sent to ED’s custody by the trial court on May 31. Earlier, the trial court had allowed the presence of a lawyer during the interrogation. The lawyer was allowed to be present at a distance from where he could not listen to anything but could see what was happening. However, the Delhi High Court stayed the order.
The Judge had reserved the order on the ED’s plea challenging the direction. The Judge said as there was no FIR or complaint against the minister, Jain could not claim the right of a lawyer present during the recording of the statement.
The case against Satyendra Jain
In August 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR against Satyendra Jain in a money laundering case. The ED had registered a criminal case against the AAP leader based on this FIR which was lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in which it had been alleged that Jain could not explain the source of funds received by four companies in which he was a shareholder. The companies have reportedly laundered money to the tune of Rs 16.39 crores from 2010 to 2014.
In November 2019, the Home Ministry approved the prosecution of Delhi minister Satyendra Jain in cases related to disproportionate assets and money laundering.
In April this year, the Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs. 4.81 crore owned by companies named Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, and others under the PMLA, 2002. The action was taken in connection with the disproportionate asset and money laundering case registered against AAP minister Satyendra Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and others.
